By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks on Thursday piled new
gains atop their biggest rise in three months as retailers beat
Wall Street's expectations and the European Central Bank said it
would continue stimulus measures.
"A lot of consumers are experiencing recession fatigue for
having denied themselves," Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist
at S&P Equity Research, said of upbeat sales data from
retailers including Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) and Target
Corp. (TGT).
Better-than-expected economic reports in the U.S. and from
overseas in recent days have added "credence to bottom-up earnings
forecasts previously viewed as too optimistic," said Stovall.
Poised for its first back-to-back sessions of triple-digit gains
since July 26, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was recently
up 102.40 points, or 0.9%, at 11,358.18, with 26 of its 30
components rising, led by home-improvement retailer Home Depot Inc.
(HD), up 5.2%.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX) had risen 14.74 points, or 1.2%, to
1,220.81, with financial companies pacing gains and consumer
staples the only lagging sector among its 10 industry groups.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) had meanwhile gained 26.92
points, or 1.1%, to 2,576.35.
For every stock in decline, two gained on the New York Stock
Exchange, where volume topped 663 million shares as of 2:40 p.m.
Eastern.
Ahead of Wall Street's opening bell, the government had reported
that initial jobless claims increased by 26,000 to 436,000 last
week, while the four-week average declined to a two-year low of
431,000.
"Claims did rise, but the overall trend is still showing a bit
of improvement. Even though unemployment remains above 9%, at least
it's not getting worse," said Stovall of S&P, which is
forecasting that the Labor Department will report the addition of
165,000 jobs in November, about 15,000 greater than the Wall Street
consensus.
The data, which had jobless-benefits claims climbing more than
expected in the latest week, come ahead of Friday's monthly jobs
report, with most economists expecting the unemployment rate to
hold at 9.6%.
The National Association of Realtors said its pending-home-sales
index climbed 10.4% in October, with the trade group's chief
economist saying an improving labor market is giving a lift to the
housing industry, which was described as in a "recovery phase."
Meanwhile, in Europe, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said the
central bank would keep offering banks unfettered access to loans
through the first quarter, helping to allay worries that Europe's
sovereign-debt troubles would deepen.
U.S.-listed shares of Wimm-Dann Foods (WBD) surged 28% after
PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) said it would buy a majority stake in the
Russian company for $3.8 billion.